Wyoming Wonders!
- Spencer
- 7 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
After our brief excursion into Idaho, we were back on track and headed into the Cowboy State, which we came to find out was also the first state to give women the right to vote!
Our first campground was The Virginian RV Park about a 3 hour drive from our current campground in Idaho.
We enjoyed our time here but at the time of our stay in May, 2019, the interior roads were very rutted and in horrible shape. For me, this reflects very poorly on the owners, who seemingly care so little for their customers and the stress potholes place on their rigs. But on the bright side, we had another "God is watching over us" moment at this park and will explain in a moment.
The campground was right in the heart of Jackson and just a half hour from Grand Teton National Park. After getting settled we drove out to see the park we have heard so much about.
GRAND TETON NP: EQUAL THE BEAUTY AT ONE TENTH THE SIZE
Now, my wife will disagree with me on this, but I enjoyed Grand Teton NP much more than Yellowstone NP (our upcoming stop). Although the geological diversity of Yellowstone is unrivaled, it is 3,472 square miles in size vs Grand Teton's 484. The loop around Grand Teton is only 42 miles, can be done in a day, and you see pretty much the same type of wildlife and some breathtaking scenery.
During our 4 day stay we saw bison [or "By-zawn" as some of our friends like to say], grizzly bears, antelope (yes, they were playing), elk and a grey wolf; and some of the most beautiful terrain we have ever laid eyes on.
"Isn't nature wonderful"!!? This National park needs to be on your bucket list. Just be careful, the weather can be rather fickle, even though we visited during the month of May, we still encountered snow on the hiking trails!
And along the roadside in Yellowstone National Park.
JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING:
Before I talk about the town, I thought I would share a misperception I held about this place. The town is often referred to as Jackson Hole (this is where the Federal Reserve meets annually to discuss major economic issues facing the U.S. and world economies) causing me to believe that was its official name. But it's not, it's actual name is just "Jackson". It just so happens that the town sits in a 400 square-mile geographical bowl named Jackson Hole.
Early trappers found these "bowls" a good place for hunting and trapping because animals tended to congregate in these basins, and the name stuck. There you have it!
The town itself is small and caters to tourists. You'll find a lot of shops selling Native American goods, cowboy clothing and other western type trinkets.
What did you expect from Wyomingites?
If you're looking for a good place to unwind, visit Snake River Brewery for a wide selection of locally brewed beers!
GOD'S DIVINE PROTECTION:
Here's an interesting event that occurred during our stay. While relaxing in our RV, we were suddenly overwhelmed with the strong, pungent odor of burning rubber. That is never a good sign. Then the electrical power went out on one half of our RV. Yikes! I immediately ran out and disconnected us from shore-power, grabbed a fire extinguisher and began doing a room to room search (we only have three rooms so it didn't take long). Then my search moved to the exterior. As I was circling the RV, the park manager happened by and asked what the issue was. I explained the situation in great and excited details. He said, "I'm also an RV technician, want me to fix it?" The word "yes" never flew so quickly from my mouth. As it turns out, there is an electrical plug connector in the rear of the RV that the manufacturer did not secure properly. Water had gotten into our underbelly (probably due to the heavy rains we encountered driving to our current campground). The connector came into contact with the water, and the rest is history. The manufacturer later issued a recall to fix this problem.. it just came a little too late. The manager had the power back on in about 30 minutes and we've never had an issue since!
After four days of exploring, we headed off to the king of National Parks (although it is only the 8th largest in square miles), Yellowstone!
OUR NATION'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK!
Our next campground, Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park, was a three hour drive north. Some of you may have noticed a pattern to our driving radius. We do not like to travel more than three hours at a stretch. It's stressful driving with a 35' tail and we are not in a rush. Although I have driven as much as 5 hours at a stretch, it's pretty exhausting.
This was a beautiful RV park and one which we would highly recommend.
And, the campground was only twenty minutes from the west entrance of Yellowstone. The park was established in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant.
Unless you've been to Yellowstone, you can't really comprehend its actual size. It spans three states: Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Just how large is 3,471 square miles? It is larger than the U.S. states of Delaware and Rhode Island (combined), and it's also larger than many countries, like Fiji, Kuwait, Montenegro, and Luxembourg. In fact it's almost the size of Puerto Rico. It is vast. On our first day, we spent 8 hours driving and only managed to see three sights within the park! It just goes on, and on, and on; but almost every square inch is unmarred, unaffected, and unspoiled by the footprints of civilization.
After looking at pictures of the park, you'll understand why over 3 million tourists visit each year and if your luck is anything like ours, they will all be visiting the days that you are there!
You now need to reserve a time-slot to enter the park so make sure you do your research on availability before arriving at the gate. We entered through the west entrance.
There are many hiking trails here of various difficulties and durations, and it is best to carry bear-spray with you if you plan to hike outside of sprinting distance to your car. As you hike you'll come across people with bells on their backpacks to alert the bears that dinner is coming; but seriously, the rangers told us to talk loudly and make noise to warn bears of your approaching.
THINGS TO SEE IN THE PARK:
Of course if you go, you have to visit Old Faithful.
It erupts on a surprisingly regular basis, almost every 90 minutes (+/- 10 minutes). You can click this link to visit the NPS website which gives very accurate estimates on the time of its next performance: NPS.
GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING:
"The bright, vivid colors at the edges of the spring are the result of microbial mats of bacteria that thrive in these thermal, mineral rich waters. These mats of microbes produce colors ranging from green to red depending on the amount of sunlight they receive and the temperature of the runoff. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green. The temperature of the water averages 160° and the diameter of the spring is 300 feet. Another marvel of God's creation!
GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE:
Nowhere near as spectacular as the actual Grand Canyon, the Yellowstone River has formed this ravine which stretches for 24 miles and is over 1,000 feet deep. It features two falls: the Lower Falls (the larger of the two) and the Upper Falls. There are many overlooks that provide exceptional views of this attraction.
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS:
To call these colorful terraces stunning is an understatement. I've never seen anything like it. Underground streams of hot water push up through the travertine (a type of limestone) and deposit layers of calcium carbonate. Due to the seismic activity in this region, the terrain is in constant flux causing shifts in water flow and blockages leading to new terraces forming and old ones changing shape and color. The thermophiles add that extra layer of vivid coloring.
THERE ARE MANY BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS THROUGHOUT THE PARK:
GIBBONS FALLS:
FAIRY FALLS:
THERE ARE ALSO MANY HOT SPRINGS:
BEYRL SPRINGS: One of the hottest springs in Yellowstone, averaging 196 °F
WILD LIFE!
There is wildlife through out the park. At the time of our visit the bison population had grown to 5,000. We also had the chance to see Long-Horned Sheep, Pronghorns, chipmunks and Osprey.
ONE LAST STORY:
On our way out of Yellowstone one evening, we ran into a long line of stopped traffic. When I walked forward to ascertain the cause, I found a herd of (maybe 50) bison blocking both lanes. They had walked all the way across an open field just to stand in the road. I believe it's their way of letting us pesky tourists know who the real boss is! I quickly grabbed my camera and began weaving in and out of the stopped vehicles to better position myself to photograph these magnificent, motionless creatures.
After about fifteen minutes of standing around, the herd --through some sort of silent communication-- suddenly began moving in our direction. With military precision, they split into three columns. One row of these mighty beasts began advancing down the left (empty) lane, while another column climbed the hillside off to my right (it seemed like a classic encircling maneuver).
Bison to left of me, buffalo to my right, and here I am stuck in the middle. I began retreating down the right shoulder. But then in a flash, I had that sudden and rare (very rare) realization that I should have listened to my wife and stayed in the truck, as I saw bison swarming onto the shoulder and advancing on me. And as if searching for stragglers, they also began weaving in and out of traffic. Oh crap!
As I saw it, I had two choices: climb on top of a vehicle or seek shelter in one. I tapped on a random car window and asked if they would mind if I sat in their back seat. But before the sentence was out of my mouth, the bovine thugs quickened their pace and came to within two car lengths of my exposed position. They had blood in their eyes and vengeance in their hearts (okay, I might be embellishing a bit). Without waiting for an answer, I opened their rear door and jumped in (I felt bad because from the look of shock on their son's face, my appearance was totally unexpected). I thanked them profusely for probably saving my life. While Yellowstone may be 5,000 miles from Pamploma, Spain, I can now say, I ran with (from) the bison at Yellowstone!
On our last full-day in this area, we decided to have a picnic in the park. There are many pull-offs to choose from that guarantee you the best seat in the house!
Our next stop will complete the perfect hat-trick of national parks as we travel north to Glacier. See you on down the road!